Food and drink

My uncle recommended won ton noodles at a place in Central called Mak's Noodles. The bowl of wontons and sui gows that I had were fantastic, crisp shrimp and wood ear mushrooms with just the right amount of seasoning. The noodles were more al dente than I prefer and there wasn't quite enough broth, but otherwise, an excellent lunch. I also loved how the chef in the front window hammed it up for some tourists who were snapping photos of him performing the very simple task of draining noodles!

On to Ying Kee Tea House. I knew the clerk would try to upsell me especially since I admitted I didn't really know what I was looking for. Ever since I've been in Hong Kong, I've been drinking a lot of pu erh tea, something I've avoided in the past because its dark colour led me to believe it was very bitter. But I've grown to like it and decided to buy a few cakes at the store. I also bought some "monkey pick" tea and a mid-range jasmine. If you go and don't want to spend too much, they also sell teas in bulk. After I made my purchase, the clerk prepared a small pot of tea for me, complete with warming the tiny cups in a bowl of water and straining the golden liquid.

At Watson's Wine Cellar, I was curious to see how Canada was represented. Sadly, the only bottles they had were from Mission Hill. The clerk told me that a bottle of icewine costs $800HKD! He was embarassed to admit that he'd never tried any before. Alcohol is pretty expensive, the liquor tax is something like 100%. But, you can buy booze in grocery stores.

The rest of my lazy afternoon was spent at the ifc mall again, specifically, at Le Goûter Bernardaud. This time, I had afternoon tea set so I could sample a bunch of different things. I got a pot of citrus and pineapple tea (Mélange à 4 agrumes I think) to wash down the various little bites. Pricey, but, hey, I'm sort of on vacation in Hong Kong, right?